Centurion
by theworldisahead
Summary: Set in London during WWII, Rory makes an unexpected friend while guarding the Pandorica. Originally written to be posted on Instagram @the last centurion.
1. Chapter 1

London. Dec. 1939

Rory blinked up at her. He felt a bit faint. He felt as if he'd just seen a ghost. Amy was looking at him funny. Her mouth was moving but he didn't register what she was saying. "Wh..." he mumbled.

She gave him another look. "I asked if you were okay," she said. Rory squinted at her. No, no it wasn't Amy. That was impossible. Amy was inside the Pandorica. But this girl look liked a lot like her; it was uncanny.

"Uh... Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Rory said. The girl looked a bit concerned, "It's just you look kind of lonely."

That hit Rory right in the chest. Yeah, he was lonely. But he faked a smile. "Nah," he said, "Just waiting for someone."

"Okay..." said the girl, and started to walk away. Rory noticed she was holding several large packages. "Er... Do you need help, miss?" he asked. The girl turned, and one of the packages dropped with a shattering noise. "Oh shoot," she said, then gave him a goofy grin, "Uhm, actually some help would be nice." Rory sprung up and took a couple packages.

"Thanks!" she said, "I'm just dropping them off to a few of my friends."

Rory glanced back at the warehouse that hid the Pandorica. Amy should be fine for a few hours, he thought. And he could use the company. He smiled. "Point the way," he said.

The girl lead the way and Rory followed. She glanced sideways at him. "Why are you dressed like that? Do you have a party?" She asked. Rory suddenly became very aware that he didn't exactly fit in. He still had his centurion armor on. "Yeah, something like that," he said.

The girl laughed, "You kind of remind me of that old legend. About the centurion and the box." Rory frowned. "What?" He asked. The girl stooped down to put a package on a doorstep. "Yeah," she said, "It was my favorite story when I was little. It was about this centurion guarding this huge box called the Pandorica. You kind of look like the illustration in one of the books." Books? He was a book now? "Oh," said Rory, "Well was this centurion handsome?" She laughed, "Why?" "Just wondering," he said. They kept walking. He felt very self- conscious of the squeaking his limbs made when he moved.

"Oh!" Said the girl, "I'm Tori, by the way. Tori Planck." Rory smiled, "Rory Williams," he said, "Nice to meet you. Tell me Tori, why are you still in London? You do know there's a war on?" Tori nodded, "Yeah. But those Germans can't scare me. Nothing in the world can keep me away from this city. Or my job! I'm training to be a fashion stylist."

"That's exciting!" Rory said, handing her a package to set down. "Yeah, what about you?" she asked. "Oh me?," said Rory, "I'm sort of a security guard." "For what?" "Uhm," he hesitated. He couldn't say the Pandorica. "A hospital," he said. Well, it wasn't a complete lie.

"Oh, okay!," said Tori, setting down the last present, "Well, that's the last of them, thank you!" "No problem. Happy Christmas," said Rory. "And you," said Tori with a smile.

Rory turned back to the warehouse. He felt a bit sad. How many Christmases without Amy have passed him by? Well, it was only 1939. 70 more years to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Rory hadn't gotten ten steps when he heard a clanking. A robotic voice. Screaming. He turned to see half a legion of Cybermen marching through the street. They were firing upon bystanders, who were frantically trying to run away.

But wait... Something was wrong. The lasers were only leaving small burns. Rory looked closer. They were damaged. The Cyberman's armor was cracked and rusted and they moved even slower than usual, and with much more clanking. Survivors from when the universe burnt out? But how?

Tori was staring wide-eyed at the metal men. Rory ran up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump. "Run!" He said, taking her hand and running down the street. They ducked into an alleyway to hide and catch their breath.

Rory peeked around the corner. The Cybermen didn't seem to be following them. "What's happening?" asked Tori, "Is it Nazis?! I thought we were expecting an air raid!" Rory could start to hear the clanking grow louder. "Uhm, not exactly," he said. He peeked out again and pulled back quickly when a laser bolt flew towards him, setting the nearest bush on fire. Those half-power lasers might be only strong enough to blister humans, but they could still very well melt him.

"Then what are they?" asked Tori, peeking around with him, "They kind of took like tin men. Like in that new film, The Wizard of Oz!" Rory wasn't really listening, to be honest. He was trying to focus on how they were going to get out of this. And not dying. Again.

He turned towards Tori. "Do you know any safe places near here?" he asked frantically. "Well, I live about two kilometers from here," she said, frowning, "And I've got a bomb shelter in the garden." "Great, let's go," said Rory, and the two ran out of the other side of the alley and towards Tori's house.

Suddenly, Tori shrieked as she turned a corner and skid right into a Cyberman. It turned towards her and stuck out its arm, ready to shoot. "DELEEEEE" said it's strained metal voice. "Duck!" screamed Rory. She ducked as Rory fired his handgun into the Cyberman's chest. The cyborg sparked and caught flame. It made a synthetic wailing sound as it crashed to the pavement.

Rory kept on running. "Come on!" He shouted behind him. Tori gaped at him. "Your... Your hand..." she said. Rory ran back a few paces, "Yes, I'll explain later, now come on!" Another Cyberman was clanking around the corner. Seeing this, Tori started running after him, still in shock.

Finally, they arrived at a small house with a beautiful garden. Rory hopped the short fence and ran to open the half-buried bomb shelter. They ran inside and locked the door behind them.


	3. Chapter 3

Tori lit a lamp, then sat on a bench and crossed her arms. Rory saw the look she was giving him and flinched a bit. He felt like he was in trouble. He reminded himself to ask Amy later if she was related to a Victoria Planck.

"So," she said, "I think you owe me some answers." Rory sat across from her and removed his helmet. The plume on his helmet was fringed and faded. He looked up at the ginger girl. She raised her eyebrow as if to say, "Well?"

"Uhm, you know that story," said Rory, "About the centurion and the box? Well, it's true. I'm him." Tori rolled her eyes. "You don't have to make fun of me," she said. "I'm not!" said Rory. Explaining all this was going to be harder than he thought. He wondered how the Doctor did it.

"See, the universe used to be so much bigger," said Rory, "But, it was erased from time and it never existed. I think. Not sure exactly, that part has always been a bit fuzzy..." Tori was frowning. "But the sky, " he said, gesturing above him, "Used to have loads of stars-" At this Tori scoffed. "Oh you're not one of those nutters who believes in stars, are you?!" Now it was Rory's turn to be annoyed. "Are you going to listen?" he asked. Tori sighed. "Sorry," she said.

"Okay, so the sky had loads of stars," Rory continued, "And some of these star systems had alien life. Most were friendly, but some weren't. And all those guys seemed to be bent on destroying the Earth for some reason..." He trailed off. He had always thought it was odd how Earth was always the target...

"But, there was this one man called the Doctor, who protected us. And one day all his enemies formed an alliance to defeat him, but it sort of backfired, and they erased the universe," said Rory, "Those tin men we saw? They're bad guys. Aliens called Cybermen. Somehow they survived being erased from time."

"And you?" asked Tori, "Are you an alien? I mean you can't be human... You have a gun in your hand!" "No, I'm human. But, I'm made of plastic," said Rory bluntly. "What?!" said Tori, looking more than a little disturbed. "Well, I died," said Rory, "And I turned into a plastic Roman. It's very distracting."

Tori stared at him for a moment, then laughed and sat back. "Rory the Roman," she said, "The lone centurion and his box... Is there anything else I should know?" Rory thought about it. "There are lizard people living under Earth's crust," he said. Tori's eyes grew wide and Rory laughed to himself. He began to see why the Doctor liked this.

CLANG! The metal roof of the bombshelter vibrated as something above it stuck the surface. "What was that? They followed us?!" said Tori frantically, "Why? What do they want?" CLANG! CLANG! Rory frowned. The Doctor had told him about the Cybermen once... almost 2,000 years ago. He shut his eyes as he strained to remember. CLANG!

"Uhm..." he said, "Well, I remember once I killed this one Cyberman with a sword... He was looking for another body to... Upgrade." CLANG! "So these survivors, they're broken and old. There aren't many of them. They're probably looking to rebuild their legion..." CLANG! "But they're so stupid on their own... The Doctor said they need a..."

"What?" said Tori. Rory was staring at her now with a look of fear in his eye. "What do they need? A brain?" Rory nodded. "They need a leader," he said slowly, "And I'm not compatible." Tori's expression darkened as she began to understand. "They want me?" she said.

Before Rory could answer, the hair-raising screech of metal being ripped apart pierced the air and sunlight streamed into the bomb shelter. They saw a rusted metal face through the hole in the roof. "W-w-we have found the girl she will be the new cyber-r-r-r controller we will conquer-r this world."


	4. Chapter 4

"Don't be afraid," said Rory. He and Tori had been lead by the Cybermen to an abandoned metal factory. Well, recently abandoned. Tools and hard hats were scattered across the floor, left behind by the fleeing workers.

Tori looked at him in fear. "What's going to happen to me?" she asked. "Nothing," said Rory, "I won't let anything to you, Amy... Tori! I mean Tori, I..." He trailed off, looking down at his feet. He felt his heart slump in his chest. He looked back up at Tori, who had a sad look in her eyes.

"She-she will be upgraded into the cyber controller she will l-l-lead the reconstruction of the Cybermen the humans will be like us," said one of the malfunctioning Cybermen. Tori frowned. "So you used to be us?" she said, "You were human?"

"We were weak we w-were mortal we upgraded to become stronger," said the Cyberman. "That's sick!" said Tori. "That is fear you ex-ex-experience we will eliminate fear," responded the Cyberman, grabbing Tori by the arm to lead her to a large, sparking machine.

"No!" said Rory, struggling against the Cyberman's grip, trying to aim his handgun at the cyborg leading Tori away. But the metal man was too strong, and he could only move a few inches. What was he going to do?! Tori struggled as they strapped her to the machine. "Rory!" she shouted.

Rory glanced around him frantically. The machine whirled to life. Tori fought her bonds. He needed to do something! Body armor was lowered over Tori. Wait, what was that? A mirror? A mirror!

Rory fired a laser bolt from his hand at the mirror. The beam of energy bounced off the mirror, ricocheted off a light fixture, bounded off a metal cauldron, bounced off a puddle of water, and finally burned its way into the treacherous machine. The metal machine screeched and sparked wildly before catching fire. Rory took advantage of the Cybermen's confusion to break free and run over to Tori.

He helped Tori off the machine. "Go!" he yelled at her, pointing at the exit. Tori nodded frantically and bolted for the exit. Rory began to follow but was caught in the back by a laser from one of the Cybermen. He grunted as he fell face down on the floor. Seeing this Tori stopped, running to help him up, but instead noticed a barrel of black oil against the wall.

"Hey Mr. Centurion!" shouted Tori. She braced herself against the barrel and pushed. The barrel crashed to the floor and the oil spilled across the concrete. Rory frowned, then understood. A Cyberman approached him and he kicked him down into the pool of black. Then he quickly jumped up and used the Cyberman as a stepping stone to cross the puddle, meeting Tori on the other side.

Three more Cybermen clanked after them, raising their arms to fire. "Nope!" said Rory, firing his own weapon into the pool of oil. A giant flame leapt from the oil and the Cybermen wailed as they backed away from it, trapped on the other side. The fallen Cyberman in the flames sparked and stopped moving as it's metallic body heated and stared to glow red.

Rory and Tori stood transfixed at the scene before the centurion gently elbowed the girl, signaling for them to leave.


	5. Chapter 5

Rory and Tori walked away from the burning factory in silence. "Thank you," said Tori as they arrived at her house, "Again." Rory smiled at her. "No problem," he said. Frankly, he was still in a state of shock. Everything had happened so quickly. He just felt luckily to get out alive. He noticed Tori had a cut on her upper arm.

"Here," said Rory, "I'm a nurse, let me treat that." Tori laughed, "A plastic centurion nurse," she said, leading the way into the house, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" She handed Rory a first-aid kit and he started rummaging through it.

"How did you do that?" asked Tori, wincing as Rory cleaned the cut, "Make your laser gun thing ricochet like that." Rory honestly didn't know. "Pure luck," he laughed, cutting off a length of bandage. "Well, it was very clever!" said Tori. "You're pretty quick yourself," said Rory, finishing the dressing on her arm.

"Thanks," said Tori, "Oh! Wait, you got shot! Are you okay?" Rory nodded. "Yeah, the lasers were weak. My armor stopped it," he said, "Well, I should be off." "Really?" said Tori, disappointedly. "Got to get back to my box," said Rory, smiling with a sad look in his eyes, "You stay out of trouble, okay?" Tori smiled. "Well, I can't make a promise I can't keep," she laughed.

With a short hug, Rory left the house. Tori watched him go through the window. When he was out of sight she went quietly to her study. She moved her fingers over the top of the bookshelf until she heard a click, and the secret door swung open. She went straight to the telegraph.

'I have made contact," she clacked out in morse code. She waited. Then the telegraph sprung to life, signaling out one word: 'Excellent.'


	6. Chapter 6

Rory was back at the old warehouse. Back guarding the Pandorica. Tonight was Christmas Eve. It had only been a week since the run in with those Cybermen. It still puzzled him how those Cybermen had survived when the universe fizzed out. The weird thing too was the way they moved. Besides being old and rusty (thousands of years does a number on the joints), they seemed more robotic. More robotic than usual, that is.

He heard footsteps outside of the warehouse. A shadow passed over one of the cracks in the wall. Rory crouched down behind a crate and pulled his handgun. He saw a shadow at the door.

"Rory? You in here?" said the shadow. "Tori?" said Rory, standing up from behind his box, "What are you doing here?" "It's Christmas," she said, "Nobody should be alone on Christmas. And I brought a picnic!" She held up a basket and Rory smiled. "Thanks," he said, "Except, I don't eat. I can't. Plastic, remember?" "Oh," she said, setting down the basket.

"So this is the Pandorica," said Tori, walking over to the giant black box. She traced her hand over the circular locking patterns. "What's in here, exactly," she asked, turning to Rory. Rory was silent for a moment. "Something worth protecting... Someone worth waiting for," he said. Tori looked at him compassionately. "Who?" she asked.

Rory looked at her. "Anyways, don't you have someone to spend Christmas with?" he asked. Tori looked a bit annoyed that he didn't answer her, then sighed. "No, actually," she said, "My family lives a bit too far away to visit." "Sorry to hear about that," he said.

"Oh!" said Tori, rummaging through her jacket pockets, "I have a gift for you!" She handed him a small piece of folded paper. Rory took it and unfolded it slowly. It was a drawing of the night sky, hundreds of stars dotting the dark backdrop. He smiled and looked up at her.

"Thank you!" he said. "I know it's small," she said, "But I thought you might be missing the stars. Since you say they actually existed." Tori winked playfully. "I did," he said, and have her a hug.

...

Tori stayed and chatted a bit, then finally headed off. That was nice of her, Rory thought. He really did need the company. All these years he had tried to stay out of the way of history for fear of messing something up. But, he was glad that he had branched out and met Tori. It seemed to be going fine.

"You sentimental fool," hissed a voice. Rory spun around to come face to face with a Silurian.


	7. Chapter 7

"Who are you?!" said Rory, cocking his gun. It whirred as it charged up. The Silurian just rolled its eyes. "Oh, you're not going to shoot me," she said. "How do you know that," said Rory, trying to sound as tough as he can. "Because," the lizard woman said, "You're too kind."

"Not if you're here to hurt my wife," said Rory through gritted teeth. The Silurian strode over to the Pandorica and looked it up and down. Rory followed her with his gun. "Plus I'm a friend of the Doctor, and here to help you," she said. "How do I know that?" asked Rory.

The Silurian walked over to him. "Are you still so jumpy because that imbecile Restac shot you?," she asked. Before Rory could answer she gave an exasperated huff from her nose and said, "Don't say we all look alive, it's not as if you apes have any distinction besides your horrid smells." What? What was going on?

"Madam Vastra, does that ring any bells for you?" she said rather pompously. Rory frowned. "Who?" he asked. Madam Vastra tilted her head, observing him. "Oh, no," she said, "Far too young to know me. Well don't worry dear, you will." Rory was very confused. Who was this Madam Vastra? How does she know him? Oh, that's right. Time travel. Too wibbly-wobbly for him.

Vastra placed her cold, scaled hand on his gun hand and lowered it. "I don't think you will be needing that, I won't bite," she said, "I don't eat plastic." Rory's eyes widened. What does she eat?!

The lizard woman walked over to a crate and sat down. She raised her brow. "So," she said, "Are we going to talk?" Rory glanced around. Nobody else was here as far as he could tell. Hesitantly he walked over to the crate facing her and sat down.

"Talk about what?" he asked. "You," said Madam Vastra, "And your... Sentiment." Rory frowned. "Sentiment?" he asked. "Your growing friendship with that orange-haired female," said Vastra. "What about her?" said Rory.

"I'm not sure if you should trust her," she replied. "I still don't know if I should trust you," said Rory curtly. Vastra glared and let out a throaty growl. Rory shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Why?" he asked. "I've been watching her," said the Silurian, "Her actions are... Suspicious." "How?" asked Rory. Vastra didn't reply, as if she couldn't explain. Rory was frustrated now. "She seems perfectly nice to me," he said, almost too roughly, "And I can be friends with her if I want!"

Madam Vastra stood to tower over him. "You only feel the need to because she looks like your wife, foolishly disregarding any other factors on whether or not you can trust her," she growled, "The Doctor told you to stay out of trouble, and that is what you should do."

Rory stood up to face her. "Thank you for your advice but I think you should leave now," he said. Madam Vastra looked at him coldly. "Fine," she said, "But you can't say I didn't warn you." And with that she strode out of the warehouse and disappeared into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

August. 1940.

"You know you don't exactly fit in, right?" asked Tori, "I mean, there aren't too many centurions walking around these days." Rory nodded. "I guess I've never taken the time to find a new outfit," he said.

It was August. Rory had actually considered what Madam Vastra said, but had just as soon disregarded it. Tori Planck just seemed like a nice girl, and after eight months he didn't see anything "off" about her. He was allowed to have friends, right? The Doctor couldn't expect him to be lonely for 2,000 years.

Tori let out a huge grin. "I think I'm just the girl for the job," she said. With that, she pulled him along by his cold, plastic hand. When they arrived at her house she ran into her study and came back with a huge binder. Rory chuckled as she rummaged through it until she pulled out a sketch. "I've been working on this suit for ages," said Tori, "Would you like to be the model for the prototype?" Rory raised an eyebrow. "You mean your plastic mannequin?" he said. Tori laughed. "No!" she said.

Rory studied the drawing. "It's really good," he said, "Except I'm not wearing the bow tie." Tori frowned. 'Not cool,' mouthed Rory. "Well, that can be fixed," she giggled, and left to fetch her sewing tools.

Rory glanced around her sitting room. It was nice, filled with comfy chairs and elegant side tables. Rory walked over to the bookshelf against the wall. On top was a framed picture of Tori and a young man. Rory heard Tori walk back into the room.

"Alright, Mr. Centurion," she said, "Come over here and hold out your arms so I can measure you." Rory did as he was told. "Tori," he said as she held up a tape measure to him, "Who's that? In the picture over there."

She looked over at the frame sadly. "That's my fiancé... His name was Paul Huber," she said, her voice trembling. Rory looked at her in concern. "What happened?" he asked softly. "He was killed," she said, "One night he was walking home from work and some gangster tried to mug him. He fought back, and..." Tori's voice cracked and her eyes filled with tears. Rory put his hand on her shaking shoulders. "I'm so sorry," he said, and embraced her in a comforting hug. Tori pulled out and excused herself to the powder room.

When she came back, eyes puffy and nose red, she gave him a half-hearted smile. "I think I have all I need," she said, "How about you come back in two weeks for the first fitting?" Rory smiled. "Sounds good," he said, "You okay?" Tori nodded. Rory gave her another hug and left for the Pandorica. Tori watched him leave. She took a deep breath and retreated into her study.


	9. Chapter 9

"And here we are," said Tori, holding out the suit. "Wow," said Rory, "That's impressive." Tori grinned. "Try it on?" she asked, "You can go into the sitting room." Rory smiled and walked into the other room.

Taking off this helmet, Rory felt a draft on the back of his neck. He turned and frowned. Funny, there was just a wall, but he definitely felt a draft. He traced the edge of the bookshelf with his hand and felt a cool breeze. He continued to trace the top of the bookshelf and hit a notch. With a click the bookshelf swung open a couple centimeters. Rory frowned. He glanced behind him then pulled open the hidden door.

The door revealed a dark staircase lit by a single light bulb. A hidden basement? Rory stepped slowly down the stairs and entered into a dank, musty room. It looked like a small workshop. There was a small desk with a radio and a telegraph, and a large map of London on the wall. Rory stared at the map. There was only one mark on it, and he didn't have a good feeling about it. Someone had circled the old warehouse where the Pandorica was hidden.

The telegraph activated and Rory jumped. As it clacked away, Rory wrote down its message on a small pad of paper on the desk. When the machine went silent the paper read: 'It is time.' Rory frowned. Time for what? He heard someone behind him, then-


	10. Chapter 10

The world slowly swam back into view. The room was too bright, only making his head hurt even more. Rory blinked himself awake and found himself strapped to some sort of sloped examination table. He glanced around the room but couldn't see anything other than his own reflection on one of the walls.

A door opened and Tori walked in. She smiled mischievously and walked up to the examination table. "Tori!" said Rory, "What's going on?" "A most glorious moment for Germany," said Tori.

Rory's eyes widened. Gone was Tori's British accent, replaced by a heavy German one. He could also see a red band on her arm. On that band was a swastika. Chills ran down Rory's spine.

"And I have to say that you were quite easy to bring in; you're far too trusting," she said, "But then again, most people are, especially when the thing they want to trust looks like so much like something they love."

"What do you mean?" asked Rory. "Do you really believe that I would actually have this revolting red hair?" said Tori with disgust. Rory stared at her. "Awww, poor little centurion," she said, "We did our research. We know that when you embarked on the quest to protect the Pandorica you left behind a girl. Someone that you loved very much, judging by the amount of sketches you drew of her."

Tori threw down several old pieces of paper with pictures of Amy drawn on them. Rory recognized them. He had drawn them during the Renaissance when he was lonely. He didn't want to forget what Amy's face looked like. Tori stomped on the drawings and ground them into the floor with her heel. Rory glared at her.

"Oh, and now it's angry," she said, smirking, "Don't you even want to know about the Cybermen? Brilliant, I thought. We needed to know if you really were that centurion of legend. Our engineers designed those robots to look exactly like those fossils found in the Underhedge. When you recognized them, we knew we had our target."

"What do you want from me?" asked Rory darkly. Tori circled the examination table and Rory strained his head to watch her. She came up behind him and spoke over his shoulder. "Imagine an invincible army of plastic, armed with unlimited ammunition," she said, "An army that doesn't need to be fed, and doesn't need to rest." She grabbed his chin so that he was looking straight into her eyes. "Germany would be invincible," she said, "The führer will be most pleased... I might even get a promotion."

Rory jerked his head away in disgust and Tori chuckled softly. "I'm not sure if this will hurt or not," she said, "It probably will." With that three masked doctors rolled in several large pieces of equipment. Rory started struggling in his bonds. "Make it easier on yourself and try to relax," said Tori before exiting the room, the door closing loudly behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

Tori stood by Colonel Schulz in the outside observation room as the scientists poked and prodded at the plastic roman. She was glad the room was sound proofed.

He was only an assignment, this Centurion. An object they needed to attain, like the Ark of the Covenant. Tori knew he wasn't human. She had tried so hard to keep herself detached, but-

"Lieutenant," said Schulz' gravelly voice, "Find Doctor Weber and tell him to bring in the radioactivity detector." "Don't you think he's had enough for today?" asked Tori. The Colonel didn't look at her. He kept on watching the procedure. Tori sighed, and went to find Doctor Weber.

...

Rory lay on the observation table in the dark lab as still as he could. Everything hurt. The scientists had all but cut him up and dissected him. He didn't know how he was going to escape this. He needed to get back; he needed to protect Amy. If he remembered his history lessons correctly, the London Blitz was going to begin soon. Like, next week soon.

He wiggled his right hand to try to free his gun, but it was stuck. He threw back his head in frustration, and winced as it made his headache worse.

He heard a soft creak and saw a sliver of light as a door opened. Rory heard hurried footsteps and saw a dark figure. He blinked to try clear his blurred vision as the figure moved about the room.

Suddenly a cloth fell over his mouth. Rory struggled and shouted out as a strong stench stung his nostrils. He thrashed on the table to fight the effects of the chemical, but he was losing. He felt himself begin to go limp. The world slowly swirled into a nothingness.

...

Rory woke with a start and glanced around him. He was in the forest, half covered in leaves and dirt. He rubbed his wrists where the bonds had been. He had no time to figure out how he had gotten there, he just to find out where he was and get back to the warehouse.

A shout echoed through the trees and a Rory saw flashlights move over the trees. He ran and hid behind a boulder as Nazis ran and searched through the forest. One soldier led a giant bloodhound by a chain.

Rory froze as the dog neared his boulder. He held his breath as the beast sniffed and lifted his head. His heart stopped as the dog locked eyes with him and growled. The German soldier swung his flashlight over the rock. His eyes widened as he saw Rory. "Hier!" he shouted, "Ich habe ihn gefunden!"

Rory didn't think. He ran.


	12. Chapter 12

Rory trudged wearily through the mud. How long had it been? Weeks? He wasn't really sure. The Nazi base had been in eastern France. Moving across the country wasn't terrible. He would travel by night and sleep by day, often camping out in old World War I trenches. Now he was sure he was near the coastline, and he need only make it across the English Channel into London.

After 2,000 years he was pretty good at not drawing attention to himself, but unfortunately that wasn't discouraging the Nazis from pursuing him across the country. Apparently Tori, or Lieutenant Planck he supposed, had been leading a search party for him. There had been a few run-ins, here and there. Luckily he had escaped them all, and just barely.

However, there was that one time he got shot. The bullet had just glanced off his arm, but it was enough to melt and disfigure a few square centimeters on his arm. And it hurt like heck... He wasn't sure, as a nurse, how to treat plastic.

Rory heard yelling behind him. Blast! He though he had lost the search party miles back! He started sprinting in the opposite direction, tripping over the brush and puddles of mud.

Whoa! Rory struggled to skid to a halt as the ground suddenly dropped out in front of him into the sea. He turned to see himself surrounded by Nazi troops, guns cocked. Rory charged up his hand gun and he saw Tori push herself past the ring of soldiers to face him.

"So," she said, "Are we done running?" "Never," said Rory, glaring. Tori smiled and strode up to him. Her hair had begun to fade from red into her natural blonde color.

"What a coward," spat Tori, "Running away, when centurions were meant to fight!" That insult smoldered inside Rory's chest. "I am not running away," he said, "I am running to protect Amy!" Tori raised an eyebrow. "Amy?" she asked, "Who's Amy?" Rory balled his fists. "That box," he said, "Inside is my fiancé. Her name is Amy. The Pandorica is healing her."

Something behind Tori's eyes softened. "And you're protecting her until it's done," she said. Rory nodded.

Then suddenly her eyes were hard again. "Well, it looks like she will have to be on her own for a bit," said Lieutenant Planck. "Nehmen Sie Ihre Ziel!" she ordered, and Rory backed up to the edge of the cliff. His heart skipped as his heel knocked pebbles down into cold, harsh waves. "Feuer!"

Crap! Bullets whizzed past Rory as he backed up. And then there wasn't ground underneath his feet and he was falling and falling and... SPLASH!

Lieutenant Planck held up her hand to cease fire. She leaned over the cliff to try to spot the centurion, but all she saw was the black of the water.


	13. Chapter 13

The British shore looked dreary this time of night. The waves made a strange whispering lapping sound against the rocks, and the moon cast eerie shadows on the water. The shore patrol made their rounds as per usual, looking out for any signs of an Axis attack by sea. But one soldier lagged a bit behind. He had a bad habit of that, but he couldn't help it; he liked to look at the night sky. He always thought it was beautiful, but it lacked something. It felt too empty.

This soldier was gazing at the empty sky on this one blistery January evening in 1941, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A dark figure lying on the shore. A body? He rushed to the water and turned the figure on its back. No, it was just made of plastic. How did a store mannequin get out here?

The soldier was about to rejoin his squad when he heard a strange gurgling sound, followed by coughing and gasps for air. He whirled around to see a living, breathing man sitting where the mannequin had been. How very odd. "Hello?" said the soldier, "Are you all right there?" He reached down to help the man stand, and supported him as he coughed up more water.

"Hck! Yeah!" said Rory once he could talk, "A bit soaked but otherwise fine. Thanks!" The soldier looked confused. "How did you end up all the way out here? Did you just decide to go for a swim this time of night?" he laughed. "Actually, that's pretty accurate," said Rory, nodding. He then unhooked his belt and tipped the sheath of his sword upside down. Seawater along with a few small fish poured out of it and splashed onto the shore.

"I'm Rory," said the Centurion. The soldier saluted and said, "Private Wilfred Mott at your service." 'Hmm,' thought Rory, 'That sounds familiar.' "Tell me Private Mott, how far away is London?" asked Rory. "Oh, just about three clicks north of here," said Wilfred. "Thanks," said Rory and started off towards London.

"Hey!" Rory heard Wilf say, "Where are you going now?" "North!" Rory shouted when he realized: he didn't know which way north was! There wasn't a North Star and he wasn't awake when the sun had set.

"Ehrm," said Rory, turning around, "Which way is north?" Wilf pointed and frowned, "What's the rush? I mean, I just pulled you out of the channel." Rory shook his head. "I need to get there now," he said, "I need to protect my fiancé."

"Oh!" said Wilfred, "Well then let me help you. I can't let you get lost." Rory laughed. "No, no you should stay with your squad," he said, "But thank you." Wilf nodded.

Rory was about to turn and leave when he remembered something. This was Wilf! Donna's grandfather! "Oh, Wilf!" said Rory. Wilfred turned and tilted his head questioningly. "The sky," said the Centurion, "It used to have stars and comets and nebulas. It was wonderful and huge and full of possibility. It made all of this feel so small. It was beautiful."

Wilfred's eyes widened. "How did you..." he began, but the plastic roman had disappeared into the night. He looked up at the sky and could almost see it, the stars and nebulas and wonder. And he smiled.


	14. Chapter 14

They had found him. How had they found him? He was still puzzled on how Nazi troops had crossed the Channel undetected. Rory sprinted through the streets of London, running as quickly as he could from the heavy footsteps behind him. He could hear the shouts getting louder as they echoed between the buildings. Then they stopped.

Rory slowed and hid in an alley-way. He glanced around the corner, but could no longer see his pursuers. Where had they gone? His question was answered when the whine of air sirens pierced the air. 'Oh, no,' he thought, jumping out of the alley and rushing to the warehouse where the Pandorica lay hidden.

He was met by the sight of ten guns all cocked and trained on him. Tori walked up to him. "Rory, dear," she said, "I never took you for a fool. You know you couldn't escape, yet you still run. Childish." Rory glared at her. He charged up his hand gun and aimed it straight at her head. She laughed. "Oh, so you have the guts to shoot me?" Tori sneered, and walked behind him. "I actually think it better if you duck," she whispered. "What?" said Rory. "Duck!" screamed Tori.

Rory hit the ground as Tori whipped out a pistol and sent three successive shots into the Nazi soldiers. Rory stared, paralyzed in shock as he felt somebody pull on his arm. "Get up!" Tori exclaimed. Rory scrambled to his feet and dashed for cover behind a pile of scrap metal as a hail of bullets whizzed past. Tori ducked for cover right behind him.

"What are you doing?!" said Rory as she changed her clip and started to fire back at the Nazis. "Saving your butt," she said. Rory sent back several laser bolts at the evil troops. "Why?" he asked. Tori just looked sideways at him. "Because those 2,000 years should not be in vain," she said.

And then it clicked. Of course. It made Rory sad. He was about to reply when a huge flash of light lit the sky and terrible explosion ripped through the air. Rory threw himself over Tori as shrapnel rode the pressure waves, knocking down street signs and pushing back cars. Heat boiled the air around them and a high-pitched ringing invaded Rory's ears. When the Earth had stopped shaking he lifted his aching head and looked around.

A bomb had struck nearby, luckily not near enough to kill them, but enough to do some damage. The warehouse had started to glow as a fire began to rage inside. "No!" said Rory, but before he could run inside he remembered Tori. He saw her a few feet beside him, trapped under a large sheet of scrap metal. He strenuously threw off the metal and propped her upright. Her breathing was jagged and Rory noticed a sharp, rusty piece of metal lodged into her shoulder.

"It's okay, it's okay," said Rory, tearing part of his shirt to create a makeshift bandage, "I'm going to get us out of here." "No," said Tori, struggling to speak," No. You get your fiancé Mr. Pond."

Rory frowned at her. "But you'll die," he said. "Then I'll die knowing I have saved a life," said Tori. She looked sad, "But nothing can make up for all I've done." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Go," she whispered. "Thank you," said Rory softly. He stood up and faced the burning warehouse. He looked back with sad eyes before running into the flaming building.

The flames leaped twenty feet high and licked the wooden crates with fiendish hunger. Rory dashed around the flames as best he could but that didn't stop his cape from catching on fire. "Agh!" Rory yelled and jerked about trying to put out the flame. He finally threw the cape off and squinted through the raging fire ahead. Beyond he could see the faint shadow of the Pandorica.

He grabbed the large rope beside him and ran to the giant box. He lay a hand on its side. It was strangely cold. "Don't worry, Amy," he said, and proceed to wrap the rope around the Pandorica.

Rory pulled at the rope as hard as he could, and the Pandorica seemed to respond, letting him pull it along. The warehouse started to creak as it fell apart. Cinders swirled though the air, stinging Rory's face and scorching the cloth on his armor. He jumped back as a huge ceiling support beam crashed to the ground. The pillar it was attached to swayed and fell slowly. Rory threw up his arms and heard the splintering of wood at the pillar smashed through the wall of the warehouse, creating a gaping hole. Rory exhaled in relief and hauled the Pandorica out of the burning building, the glow of the fire lighting the way through the dismal night.

...

Tori struggled as the two Nazi soldiers brought her face to face with Colonel Schulz. He looked down his nose at her. Tori just lifted her head defiantly, blood trickling out of her wounded shoulder and from a gash on the side of her face.

"And I would do it again any day," said Lieutenant Tori Planck. The Colonel lifted an eyebrow. "It's treason, then," he said menacingly. The next thing Tori heard was the metallic click of a handgun.


End file.
